Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental disorders in the U.S. But a simple diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder may not capture the specifics of what bothers some people.
A subgroup of anxiety sufferers may experience extreme distress when confronting the inherent uncertainties that turn up in any life circumstance, whether helping a relative with a severe illness or choosing a new route to work that is safe and easy to navigate.
Psychologists, though, are learning new ways to treat these sufferers, who can be identified through their answers to a psychological measurement known as the intolerance of uncertainty scale (IUS). Patients can then benefit from specialized treatment.
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Having higher self-reported IU or greater activity in a brain area called the anterior insula during imaging independently predicted an increase in anxiety, depression or emotional distress.
Therapists have begun to target their patients’ uncertainty intolerance to help them through the pandemic because COVID’s unpredictability exacerbates classic IU behaviors in some people. Some read everything they can find on the Internet, wash their hands incessantly and rarely leave home. Others refuse to alter their routines even if they are putting themselves or others at risk. There are endless permutations of dealing with this continuing state of just not knowing.
